A Comparison of National Qualifications Frameworks and Recognition, Validation, and Accreditation Mechanism of Informal Learning in Vocational Education and Training Among Selected Countries

The demand of qualified workforce in developed and developing nations has increased the mobility of workers worldwide. Workers’ qualifications/competences/prior learning experiences are often not equally treated in their home or immigration countries. The standards of assessment and certification are not the same all over the world, so the workers are to face challenges to get their qualifications or competencies recognised at an appropriate level. Many countries have developed their National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) for referencing different types of qualifications acquired in different settings: formal, nonformal and informal learning. The objectives of this study are to compare (i) the NQFs of selected countries and (ii) the recognition, validation, and accreditation (RVA) mechanisms of non-/informal learning in vocational education and training (VET) among five selected countries. The countries are: Bangladesh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Malaysia, the Republic of Türkiye and Germany. In addition, the European Union’s Qualifications Framework (EQF) has been taken as the reference to better present the comparison. Purposive sampling was used to select these countries. Related documents of NQFs and RVA were studied for writing this article. This study finds that among the five countries Germany, Türkiye and Malaysia have eight levels in their NQFs and when compared level-wise the level descriptors are more or less comparable at each level, while Bangladesh and KSA have ten levels and the level descriptors often mismatch between these two countries as well as with other group (Germany, Türkiye and Malaysia). The RVA in these countries exist, being practiced and the RVA mechanisms are comparable with slight differences in their processes. The finding of this research will guide the concerned stakeholders to place the prospective migrant workers/learners at a level best fit as per their earned qualifications/competences.